MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Sale Creek Panthers needed a break in their second match of the day here at MTSU’s Murphy Center in the TSSAA State Volleyball Tournament.
Needing just 48 minutes to prevail, the Lady Panthers had perhaps their easiest match of the season as they hammered Memphis East, Sale Creek winning by scores of 25-7, 25-4 and 25-9.
No question the Lady Mustangs have some outstanding athletes, but volleyball simply isn’t their sport and it showed.
Sale Creek had lost a tough match against Loretto in its first battle of the day, so the easy win against the Lady Mustangs was somewhat of a blessing for coach Debbie Hill and her Lady Panthers, now 37-7 overall.
“This was a nice way for us to set the tone for the rest of the tournament, but we just tried to work on our skills and play our game without worrying what was going on with the other team,” Hill said, trying her best to say words about a team that really shouldn’t have been been in the tournament.
“We lost a tough match against Loretto, so we wanted to regain a little confidence. It takes a little time to get used to playing in this big arena with the high ceiling, but all of my kids got on the court tonight and I’m happy about that.
“We need to win three matches tomorrow to make Thursday’s championship match and we’re capable. We’ve never done that before, but I just hope we’re ready to play. We aren’t ready to call it a season just yet,” she added.
Sydney Gibson was one of Sale Creek’s leaders with 10 kills and five aces. Jayda Perry had 15 assists and six aces while Avery Cox had seven digs.
The Lady Panthers face Hickman County in their first match on Wednesday. The winner of that match would advance to play the winner of South Greene and Gatlinburg Pittman.
East entered the tournament with a 17-1 record, but its season ends at 17-3 with two losses on Tuesday.
SALE CREEK STATS:
Hannah Skiles – 10 assists, 3 aces;
Reagan Ayers – 5 kills
Avery Cox – 7 digs, 1 ace
Sydney Gibson – 10 kills, 5 aces
Lillie Morgan – 4 kills
Jayda Perry – 15 assists, 6 aces, 1 dig
Allison Smith – 1 dig, 2 aces
Ruthie Parks – 2 kills
Catherine Hicks – 1 dig
Kristen Sharp – 1 dig
Sophia Dozier – 3 digs, 1 assist, 4 aces
Kayla Phillips – 2 kills
Gabi Lacheney – 2 kills
Madysun Steele – 5 kills.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)